RSC Women's Tennis Coaches' Preseason Poll: Asbury picked as top team in 2020
MIDDLETOWN, Ohio -- Four-time defending champion Asbury (Ky.) University was picked as the favorite in the 2020 River States Conference Women's Tennis Coaches' Preseason Poll. The Eagles have won the last four conference championships in a row. Voting was conducted by the eight head coaches in the league.
Asbury, which is also "receiving votes" in the NAIA Women's Tennis Top 25 Preseason Poll, earned six out of a possible seven first-place votes in the RSC preseason poll. The Eagles garnered 47 votes overall to lead the conference. Nationally, Asbury starts the year rated as the No. 30 team overall in the country.
Asbury has been to the last four NAIA Women's Tennis National Championships. This past fall, the Eagles were the top team at the RSC individual tournament winning six of the nine overall flights for their squad.
IU East was picked second in the RSC poll after its RSC Championship runner-up finish a year ago. The Red Wolves received 41 votes and the remaining two first-place votes. Thais Mendez leads IU East as the champion of the top flight from the fall individual tournament.
IU Southeast was picked third in the poll with 39 votes coming of its conference semifinal run last year. IU Kokomo was next in fourth with place with 32 votes and was also a semifinal qualifier in 2019. Midway (Ky.) University and Brescia (Ky.) University were postseason teams last year and are predicted there again in fifth and sixth with 25 and 20 points, respectively. Carlow (Pa.) University and Ohio Christian University rounded out the poll in seventh and eighth.
The 2020 RSC Women's Tennis Championship will be held April 24-25 at the at Top Seed Tennis Club in Nicholasville, Ky. The winner will automatically qualify for the NAIA Women's Tennis National Championship May 12-16 in Mobile, Ala.
2020 RIVER STATES CONFERENCE WOMEN'S TENNIS COACHES' PRESEASON POLL (JAN. 29, 2020)
(First-Place Votes in Parenthesis)
| School | Votes |
| 1. Asbury (Ky.) (6) | 47 |
| 2. IU East (2) | 41 |
| 3. IU Southeast | 39 |
| 4. IU Kokomo | 32 |
| 5. Midway (Ky.) | 25 |
| 6. Brescia (Ky.) | 20 |
| 7. Carlow (Pa.) | 13 |
| 8. Ohio Christian | 8 |